Page 38 of Securing His Heart

She’d had no idea when she employed Ian that he had a connection to the Chairman.

God, had this been his plan all along?

Plant a family member to report back to him. Was that why Jonathon seemed to know what she was about to do before she announced it?

There was something else, too. Ian may have only spoken a three-letter word, but had there been a hint of fear in his voice? Surely, she had to have imagined it. Ian had to have been part of this scheme the whole time he’d been managing her daily affairs.

The betrayal stung. She’d thought she and Ian had had a good relationship, but it was obviously one full of lies.

Lindy wanted answers, and she wanted it to be all over, too. “Why don’t you just tell me exactly what you want, Jonathon? Don’t you know that by holding me at knife point isn’t going to do you any favors? What do you hope to achieve? You’re going to wreck your own life.”

If he wanted to take her down, she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.

Jonathon moved from lounging on the couch to stand in front of her.

She noted that Chris had moved as well.

If it bothered the Chairman, he didn’t let it show. Jonathon’s focus was on her, and what she saw on his face had her stomach knotting in fear.

His smooth veneer was nowhere to be seen. His hazel eyes wide open and he looked a little unhinged. “Your decisions are wrecking my life. I’ve sunk everything I have into those two projects you shut down. I saw the reports and saw how profitable it was going to be. Investing in it was a no-brainer.” He jammed his index finger into her chest. Ian’s grip tightened on her, the action causing the knife to dig in a little more. She winced unable to hold back a gasp of pain as more of the blade pierced her skin.

Chris growled, and she worried that he was going to rip the other man’s head off.

She didn’t want to lose Chris to jail and prayed he would keep his cool for a little while longer.

Jonathon would dig himself deeper into the hole he’d opened, of that, she was sure.

Ian’s hand trembled against her side, as if he too was afraid of both Chris and Jonathon. Thankfully, the action didn’t make the knife sink into her any further, if anything it appeared like Ian was pulling it away.

Perhaps he hadn’t been quite as willing to betray her as Jonathon had thought.

Or Lindy was being wishful.

“You and your father are the same, he didn’t want to proceed, but I forced his hand with getting the board on my side. Even encouraged a couple of them to invest in the projects as well. And now, you’ve canceled them.” Jonathon slammed his fist into his palm.

Money. It always came down to the almighty dollar, she shouldn’t be surprised. However, Lindy was. Jonathon was successful in his own right, he should’ve had enough business sense to believe that if it looked too good to be true, it generally wasn’t. The fact he sank a lot of his own money into the projects, wasn’t her problem, it was his.

No way was she going to let this bully get the better of her, even with her life in jeopardy from the point of a knife. “You would’ve lost a lot more if I had gone ahead with the projects. Our research team found out the initial reports were false. Whoever gave you that information, duped you. You got scammed. There is nothing in the ground. And I have more recent, and genuine, reports to prove it.”

“You’re lying.” Jonathon struck her cheek, and her head snapped to the right.

Her flesh stung and her ears rang from the blow. Tears burned at the back of her eyes but she wasn’t going to let them fall. No way would she give Jonathon the satisfaction of seeing her in pain.

“You just made a huge mistake, asshole. No one touches Lindy.” Chris moved quickly, a blur of action. He disarmed Ian, and Steve tackled Jonathon to the ground.

Lindy rushed behind her desk, getting herself out of harm’s way. Her fingers trembled as she picked up the phone and contacted the security desk. “I need security up here immediately and you need to call the police.” She heard the confirmation from the security officer as she pulled the phone away from her ear.

Warm arms closed around her and she found herself pressed up against Chris’s hard chest. Trembles wracked her body and if Chris hadn’t been holding her, she would’ve sunk to the floor. The cut on her wrist throbbed.

“You good?” His hand moved up and down her back, chasing away the fear that had consumed her from the moment she walked into her office and had a knife shoved into her side.

“I am now.” She glanced over her shoulder.

Steve had both Jonathon and Ian wrists bound together and was leading them to the couch.

“I can’t believe this. Jonathon was one of Dad’s good friends.” Tears welled at how much Jonathon’s actions would’ve devastated her father. “His betrayal is beyond words.”

“Do you think he would’ve done this if your dad was still alive?”